🌊 ELYSTIA 🌊

Sidra and I follow Kinno to Celerion. I look left and right, taking everything in. Excited like a young peveru bird as it launches off Terra's cliffs for its first flight.

The merchant stands are separated in two lines, and the townspeople linger in the middle. There are no hybrids here, that much is clear. On Terra, it's normal to spot a hand, cheek, shoulder, leg, with human skin. But everyone here is red.

My eyes follow Kinno as she sets up shop by the entrance of the town. The other merchants make space for her, as if she's respected. She sets items on display on a shared stand–potions, awls, wooden spoons, dried leaves, and ink.

Sidra walks down the stands, studying the merchandise. I approach Kinno.

"I told you to go away," she says without glancing at me.

I smile sheepishly. "I know, but we would really appreciate it if you gave us a quick tour. Do you know where we could stay? Who can I trade with? I have a few things I can trade, like needles I made and—"

He glares at me. "And how would you pay me for my precious time?"

I bite my lip. "I don't have much right now."

The only coins I have are from Terra, which I know won't be accepted here.

A clicking sound comes from the back of her throat. A sound frustration. "Then go to the pound. They take in strays there." She points to the left. "There's a bridge in that direction. You can either camp under it, or jump off it. You've got plenty of options."

I laugh nervously. Surely, she's joking. "Please just give me half an hour. Help a friend out?"

She glares at me. "I've got enough broke friends. Don't need more."

I stare at her pleadingly, and she sighs. "Your strange accent tells me you're not from around here. Look. I'll guide you only because you remind me of someone, but you should really ride away from this side of the world. It's not safe. Go west. Chase the horizon."

I scan the town, not seeing obvious danger. "What's wrong with this place?"

She frowns at me. "What rock have you been living under? The blue flower ravaged this side of the continent. Farmers lost their harvest and livestock. The people are starved of food and sanity. They're becoming more dangerous. The west is safer. The land there was untouched by the blue flower and people are much more... reasonable."

What blue flower is she talking about? I've never heard of such a thing. I suppose it doesn't matter. I don't have enough coin or supplies to travel for a day, much less across the continent. And I doubt Sidra's situation is different.

"I'll be fine here," I tell her. "I know my way around a bow and arrow. I can hunt in the forest."

She shakes her head and makes a clicking sound with her tongue–a sound I can only presume as irritation. "Hunting in the forest is forbidden. It's only available to the military camp. Everyone knows this."

A knot forms in my belly. I had been planning on living off my bow and arrow, but my bow is no good if there is no game to hunt. I haven't mastered any other trades. Hunting is my only means to survival.

With every news Kinno breaks to me, my excitement dulls. When I was on Terra, daydreaming about the rest of the world, I didn't picture it ravaged by a natural disaster. I imagined it would be as peaceful and lush as Terra–a naive mistake.

Zolan is quickly waking me up. This is no longer a daydream; it's reality.

"Alright," I say, trying to form a plan with all the unfortunate information I've gathered. "Well then I'll just join the military camp to get access to hunting. Problem solved."

"You know you will have to work, right? You either serve or entertain the masters."

Masters? What could that mean?

Seeing my confusion, Kinno snorts. "Don't tell me you've never heard of the giant red men that become unstoppable once they get their dicks wet."

Oh, now I understand. There are men like that on Terra, but we don't call them masters. We call them a few things, like gifted. But they aren't treated differently. There is no reason to. On Terra, we are all one people. There are no wars, only village chiefs that work together.

How hard could entertaining masters be? I could tell them a few jokes or teach them archery skills. Sidra deems herself a magician and knows some tricks that could entertain the masters.

"I can entertain as long as I get to hunt the forest."

I'll even share my bounty with the camp and town. I wouldn't want to waste meat.

"Fine. Come. I'll introduce you to a trader, but she's a tough rock."

I follow her and glance at Sidra to ensure she's safe.

Kinno gestures around the marketplace. "Left side of the market takes coins as currency. The right side uses favors as payment."

Favors as payment? How interesting. There's no such thing on Terra.

We don't go far. At the end of the merchant cart line, there's a middle-aged Zolan woman with her hair pulled tight into a bun, cargo pants and an oversized top, and intimidating eye makeup. The black eyeshadow makes her crimson irises stark.

"The girl wants to trade," Kinno tells her, elbowing me.

The woman raises her chin and angles it to the side. A gesture I don't recognize. When she turns away, I look at Kinno expectantly.

"What does that mean?"

"Means she doesn't like you and to go away."

"Uh... okay." Strange. But I'm not looking for any trouble. I'll just have to find another trader.

Another middle-aged woman approaches us. She spits at my feet, and I yelp as jump away.

Kinno chuckles. "Relax. That means she likes your sandals. Gods, you're just like A'ria when I found her. She didn't understand a damn thing."

Spitting at someone's feet is supposed to be a compliment? How bizarre.

"Want to trade?" The woman grins, revealing a golden tooth.

I nod and smile shakily. "Yes, please."

– –

An hour later, I traded my bone-needles and two water skins. Kinno went her own way, but not before warning me to be careful. She sees right through me. I don't understand many of the Zolan gestures and the slang words I hear in conversation. I'm a foreigner.

Sidra and I walk around the town. She agrees with joining the military camp to get access to hunting grounds. It's kind of these camps to organize entertainers for the soldiers. They deserve some fun after all the war trauma they endure.

We approach Kinno and thank her for her help.

She scoffs. "Thank me with coin or with the mercy of being rid of you."

She's a bit... prickly, but I'm still thankful. Hopefully she stays in this town long enough for me to run into her again and treat her to lunch for her help.

"We're all out of coins, but how about a magic trick?" Sidra asks, juggling three balls in the air and transforming them into pink flowers at the blink of an eye.

Kinno nods. "Impressive. Now show me a trick where you disappear."

I laugh. The woman clearly wants to be alone. "Thank you, Kinno," I say and tug at Sidra's sleeve.

We head out of town, toward the nearest military camp to enlist. On our way there, we talk about Terra. The paved road is long and lonely, but I'm glad I have Sidra with me.

I must look after her.

We pick up our pace when we see the camp in the distance. A cluster  of tents surrounded by a fence. Only when we're at the gate do we realize the camp's size.

Men and women walk around, carrying crates. They're decorating the camp for something. A celebration.

The guards raise their hands, forbidding us from entering.

I stay out and smile. I'm mindful of my body gestures, not wanting to do something that might be offensive. "Greetings, we would like to enlist as entertainers."

One guard calls for a woman, and she jogs to the entrance.

"You're enlisting as entertainers?" She asks, her voice flat and face bored as if she has asked this a thousand times.

Sidra and I nod.

"Very well. And do you have experience entertaining men?"

"Yes," I quickly reply. "I've entertained plenty of men."

I always got along better with boys than girls at Terra. We would go hunting and cliff-diving together. The girls weren't very interested.

The woman looks unimpressed. "Such as who? Did you work at a camp before?"

"No, but I entertained my father and cousins. Plenty of men. I don't discriminate. We always had a fun time."

Those words crack her bored demeanor. She frowns at me. "Your father?"

I shrug. "Yeah. Sidra did too."

Sidra eagerly nods. "Yeah my daddy and I always had a great time."

"Ancestors have mercy," she mutters.

I'm not sure what that means, but I learned at the market that much of the Zolan slang makes no sense to me.

The woman clears her throat and shuffles her feet.  She doesn't look at us as she says, "Right. I suppose you will do. There will just be some paperwork to fill and rules to review. Then I will show you to your tents. Welcome to camp, girls."

🤣 entertaining masters does NOT mean telling them jokes and doing magic tricks.